Cameron Sturdevant

Network and system administrators should go to the local bookstore and buy two copies of “Hacking Exposed: Network Security Secrets & Solutions,” one for themselves and one for their chief technology officer. This book, co-authored by Stuart McClure, Joel Scambray and George Kurtz, is a great practical guide for administrators and an eminently readable exposé […]

I can sum up my trip to the recent Distributed Management Task Force developers conference as a call: Kill all management agents. And the task force just might do that, if it can get some of the lead out of its pants. As I see it, the member organizations of the DMTF–always a pokey group […]

Vector Networks Ltd. has refreshed its PC management system by adding configuration-mending capabilities and calling the new offering PC-Duo Enterprise 1.2. This product is well worth consideration in environments that are LAN-connected but isnt that good a choice for managing machines that are connected via bandwidth-constrained, dial-up lines. For IT managers charged with maintaining end-user […]

Adivergence is coming in vendors approaches to desktop management, and IT managers should closely examine the maturing products that can significantly reduce support costs at the desktop. On one side are suites. On the other side are single-purpose tools. Straddling the middle is Vector Networks Ltd.s PC-Duo (see review, above). Not long ago, when a […]

Bardon Provides Full Control of Windows”> Full control internet 1.0 from Bardon Data Systems Inc. provides nearly all-encompassing control over PCs running the gamut of Windows systems, and this iteration of the product does it over IP. This means that IT managers who need ultimate control over Windows 9xs weak log-in and what applications can […]

IT managers can and should demand cleaner code, and technology vendors can and should meet that demand. Vendors should also pay much closer attention to the effects—especially over time—of patches they release to reduce the possibility of collateral damage. But thats not going to happen tomorrow. Meanwhile, IT administrators have at their disposal several tools—some […]

The Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g) provides top-notch Web and technology usability guidelines. And Jakob Nielsen, Ph.D., a principal at NN/g, has some interesting advice for IT managers. “Business process automation is where IT should be focusing, not on acquiring new technologies,” said Nielsen in an interview May 30 in San Francisco, where the company is […]

Using a variety of tools to track network security is a good way to lock down systems while staying sane on the job. Products that help monitor probes from inside a protected network are becoming increasingly important to the IT arsenal. One such tool, Visualware Inc.s VisualLookout Version 2.0, a TCP port monitoring and alerting […]

Based on the products eWeek Labs tested recently, its clear that branch offices and smaller enterprises get more than just an appliance when they buy devices that combine a firewall and VPN technology with other security applications. The major quality that IT managers should look for in these products is how well disparate applications are […]

Symantec Box Ably Melds Security Tools”> IT managers who have the luxury of building a completely new security setup at the perimeter of a large branch office should consider Symantec Corp.s Symantec Gateway Security Appliance Version 1.0. However, managers who are augmenting installed security tools may be better off investing in more-focused devices or software, […]

Using a variety of tools to track network security is a good way to stay sane on the job. Of particular value are products that help monitor network probes inside your protected network. I just looked at Visualware Inc.s VisualLookout 2.0, a TCP port monitoring and alerting tool, and found that it can indeed be […]

AirMagnet 1 .2 Reveals WLAN Trouble Spots”> AirMagnet Inc.s AirMagnet Sniffer works right, right out of the box—much to its credit and to network administrators advantage and earning it an eWeek Labs Analysts Choice award. eWeek Labs ran the AirMagnet Version 1.2 protocol analyzer on a device that represents new territory for this genre of […]